Adark brown dog
by stephen crane (excerpt)
after a time, a little dark-brown dog came trotting with an intent air down the sidewalk. a short rope was dragging from his neck. occasionally he trod upon the end of it and stumbled.
he stopped opposite the child, and the two regarded each other. the dog hesitated for a moment, but presently he made some little advances with his tail. the child put out his hand and called him. in an apologetic manner the dog came close, and the two had an interchange of friendly pattings and waggles. the dog became more enthusiastic with each moment of the interview, until with his gleeful caperings he threatened to overturn the child. whereupon the child lifted his hand and struck the dog a blow upon the head.
this thing seemed to overpower and astonish the little dark-brown dog, and wounded him to the heart. he sank down in despair at the child's feet. when the blow was repeated, together with an admonition in childish sentences, he turned over upon his back, and held his paws in a peculiar manner. at the same time with his ears and his eyes he offered a small prayer to the child.
he looked so comical on his back, and holding his paws peculiarly, that the child was greatly amused and gave him little taps repeatedly, to keep him so.
. .
one day, however, the father of the family got quite exceptionally drunk. he came home and held carnival with the cooking utensils, the furniture and his wife. he was in the midst of this recreation when the child, followed by the dark-brown dog, entered the room. they were returning from their voyages.
. .
the head of the family saw him at this moment. he gave a huge howl of joy, and knocked the dog down with a heavy coffee-pot. the dog, yelling in supreme astonishment and fear, writhed to his feet and ran for cover. the man kicked out with a ponderous foot. it caused the dog to swerve as if caught in a tide. a second blow of the coffee-pot laid him upon the floor.
select the subject and theme of the passage.
subject: a little dog is adopted by a kind child.
subject: a little dog is taken into an abusive home.
theme: keeping animals teaches children empathy.
theme: those who are abused learn to abuse the weak.
subject: a little child receives a dog as a gift from his father.

4. at the conclusion of frankenstein, robert walton has an encounter with the monster, who arrives after victor frankenstein has died. perhaps surprisingly, the monster mourns his creator and expresses remorse over the fate that victor suffered. the monster pledges to destroy himself and then departs, disappearing as he goes further north. how does the monster’s behavior and attitude in this part of the novel affect the way readers view him? is he sympathetic? is he more hateful because it is only after victor has died that he relents? how does the change in the monster fit with the theme of duality in the novel?

Write a poem that's at least 10 lines long. : )

Industrialization in europe changed the way people lived. the urban working class came into being, and with it came the drudgery of work. which two parts of this excerpt from franz kafka's the metamorphosis most closely reflect this impact of industrialization on people's lives? "what's happened to me? " he thought. it wasn't a dream. his room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls. a collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table—samsa was a travelling salesman—and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. it showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer. gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. "how about if i sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense," he thought, but that was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on his right, and in his present state couldn't get into that position. however hard he threw himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was. he must have tried it a hundred times, shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at the floundering legs, and only stopped when he began to feel a mild, dull pain there that he had never felt before. "oh, no", he thought, "what a strenuous career it is that i've chosen! travelling day in and day out. doing business like this takes much more effort than doing your own business at home, and on top of that there's the curse of travelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them. they can all go away! " he felt a slight itch up on his belly; pushed himself slowly up on his back towards the headboard so that he could lift his head better; found where the itch was, and saw that it was covered with lots of little white spots which he didn't know what to make of; and when he tried to feel the place with one of his legs he drew it quickly back because as soon as he touched it he was overcome by a cold shudder. he slid back into his former position. "getting up early all the time", he thought, "it makes you stupid. you've got to get enough sleep. other travelling salesmen live a life of luxury. for instance, whenever i go back to the guest house during the morning to copy out the contract, these gentlemen are always still sitting there eating their breakfasts. i ought to just try that with my boss; i'd get kicked out on the spot. but who knows, maybe that would be the best thing for me. if i didn't have my parents to think about i'd have given in my notice a long time ago, i'd have gone up to the boss and told him just what i think, tell him everything i would, let him know just what i feel."